Stock Option Counsel, P.C. - Legal Services for Individuals. Thank you for your enthusiasm for my practice and for the Stock Option Counsel Blog! I will continue to send quarterly updates on important topics in the market for startup equity for individual founders, executives and employees. Please keep in touch.

I counsel individuals evaluating startup job offers with stock options, restricted stock or RSUs. Here’s a key question I suggest as part of that evaluation:

What happens to any unvested shares if the company is acquired?

Since startup employees and executives earn, or vest, their equity over time, a company may be acquired before they are fully vested. The treatment of unvested shares in an acquisition affects the risk calculus of joining a startup, as the right to earn 100% of the shares gives the equity a much higher potential upside than the right to earn only a portion of the shares.

Founders, executives and key hires, including employee-level hires at early stage startups, can negotiate for Double Trigger Acceleration to protect their unvested shares in the event that the individual is terminated after an acquisition. Advisors and some founders and executives may negotiate for Single Trigger Acceleration so that their shares immediately vest at acquisition. However, protective terms for unvested shares are not negotiable for most employee-level hires. Their equity will be governed by the general terms of the Plan, which will likely be either an unfavorable Cancellation Plan or a more favorable Continuation Plan.

Cancellation Plan

Some equity incentive plans allow the company to cancel unvested shares without payment in an acquisition. In fact, in recent years I’ve noticed that this is the most common treatment in Silicon Valley-style startup employee equity plans. We’ll call this type of plan a Cancellation Plan. Under a Cancellation Plan, unvested equity can be cancelled and replaced with $0, even if the unvested shares had significant value at the time of the acquisition. For example, if an employee's total number of shares was worth $200,000 at the acquisition price, and only 50% had vested at the acquisition, the employee would be paid $100,000 at closing. The unvested value of $100,000 could be cancelled without payment even if the employee stayed on as an employee after the acquisition. In another example, if the employee was within the first year of service and had a one-year cliff vesting schedule, 100% of the grant could be cancelled without payment.

As noted above, the distinction between a Cancellation Plan and the more protective Continuation Plan is not usually a negotiable term. The exception to this would be at a startup with employee-friendly founders and executives who are willing to advocate for changes to their plan with the board and stockholders.

Continuation Plan

Other startup equity plans prohibit cancellation of valuable unvested equity without payment. We’ll call this style of plan a Continuation Plan. Although unvested equity that is worthless based on the acquisition price could be cancelled, valuable unvested equity must be continued or substituted for cash or equity awards with the same value as the deal consideration for the shares being cancelled. If the deal does not provide for such continuation or substitution, unvested equity will be accelerated so that it becomes 100% vested and paid at closing.

In the same example as above, if an employee's total number of shares was worth $200,000 at the acquisition price, and only 50% had vested at the acquisition, the employee would be paid $100,000 at closing. But the unvested shares would be replaced with a substitution or continuation award in exchange for the $100,000 in unvested value. That might be in the form of cash to vest over time, continuing awards in the original company, or new equity in the acquiring company's equity.

Under a Continuation Plan, the payment for unvested shares still must be earned over the original vesting schedule. So without the Double or Single Trigger Acceleration protections described below, the individual could be terminated for any reason, at any time, and lose the unvested shares. However, those who stay at the acquiring company under a Continuation Plan will continue to earn the deal consideration for their shares. (But beware. Those with unvested equity under a Continuation Plan may also be asked to sign new employment agreements forfeiting these rights as part of the acquisition, since the company’s leverage of termination is significant).

Double Trigger Acceleration

Founders, executives and key hires, including employee-level hires at early stage startups, negotiate special vesting schedules to protect themselves from losing unvested shares. With Double Trigger Acceleration rights, if an individual is terminated without cause after an acquisition, unvested equity immediately vests. It’s called Double Trigger Acceleration because vesting occurs immediately (faster than the original schedule) when two triggers have occurred - first, the acquisition and, second, the termination.

One key argument for this term is based on risk. If an individual at any level of the organization is taking a significant risk to join the company, such as sacrificing significant cash or other compensation for the equity, they advocate for Double Trigger Acceleration to protect their upside in the event that the equity becomes valuable. A second key argument for this term is based on “aligning incentives.” If the team could lose valuable unvested equity by achieving a prompt acquisition, their incentives would not be aligned with the company’s goals. Double Trigger Acceleration rights bring the individuals' incentives in alignment with the company's goals.

This Double Trigger Acceleration protection is negotiated at the offer letter stage and included in the final equity grant documents. The key negotiable terms in this clause are (1) full acceleration so that a termination of the individual without cause at any time after acquisition accelerates 100% of unvested shares; (2) application to a constructive termination in the event the individual resigns for good reason; (3) a narrow definition of “cause” and a broad definition of “good reason”; (4) a broad definition of acceleration (known as “change of control”) including a sale of substantially all the company’s assets; (5) application in the event that unvested shares would otherwise be cancelled under a Cancellation Plan; and, perhaps, (6) application to termination in anticipation of, or for a certain protective period of time prior to, an acquisition.

Single Trigger Acceleration

Advisors and some founders and executives may negotiate for Single Trigger Acceleration to immediately vest at acquisition. This is usually rejected by investors and companies as they argue that the company is an unappealing acquisition target if its talent will not be incentivized to stay after closing. This is especially true for technical talent at a technology company.

The key argument for this term is based on the need, or lack of need, for the individual’s role after acquisition. For example, advisors naturally negotiate for Single Trigger Acceleration because their primary role is to advise a company at the startup stage. They would not be necessary after an acquisition as they’ve fulfilled their purpose by that time. Others may make similar arguments as above under Double Trigger Acceleration along the lines of aligning incentives. For example, I’ve worked with a CFO who negotiated for 50% Single Trigger Acceleration because he was hired with the express purpose of improving the company’s financial position to achieve an acquisition. Those with similar arguments may even negotiate for Single Trigger Acceleration to apply at IPO, which would be a very unusual term but a logical incentive for certain hires.

Negotiating Change of Control Terms

As noted above, acceleration terms are not “on the table” in most startup equity offer negotiations. However, the availability of acceleration protection and/or the distinction between a Cancellation Plan and a Continuation Plan is a factor in assessing the risk of joining a startup. Without these protections, it may make sense to negotiate for a higher cash package or number of shares to balance risk. Check out more on my blog about considerations in defining the right startup job offer and other key terms that affect the risk of startup equity including clawbacks and tax structuring.

Tax Deferral for Option Exercise - New Section 83(i) Election. The new Section 83(i) was designed to defer taxation from a stock option exercise until the shares become liquid. Unfortunately, the details of the new Section 83(i) make it unlikely to work for most startup option holders. But where it does apply it will defer taxation for up to five years from the date of option exercise with the use of the new Section 83(i) Election. These are the key details of the new Section 83(i).

Tax Relief for ISO Exercise - New AMT Limits. Dramatic increases to the exemption amounts and phase out thresholds of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will allow many more startup employees to exercise Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) tax-free. This allows for more planning opportunities to take advantage of the potential ISO tax benefits of capital gains tax rates on all gains. These are the key details of the AMT changes as they relate to ISO exercise.

Stock Option Counsel, P.C. - Legal Services for Individuals. Thank you for your enthusiasm for my practice and for the Stock Option Counsel Blog! I will continue to send quarterly updates on important topics in the market for startup equity for individual founders, executives and employees. Please keep in touch.

The final Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 added a new Section 83(i) to the Code intending to allow holders of RSUs and options to defer tax on those benefits until they are able to sell the shares to cover their tax bills. Its drafting makes it unlikely to apply in practice at most startups, but where it applies it can defer taxation for up to five years from the date of option exercise or RSU vesting.

Many issues related to the Section 83(i) Election are unclear from the legislation and will need to be clarified by IRS guidance. So this is the best of my understanding as of today. This is not tax advice for readers, so please consult with your own accountant or CPA.

Option Exercises & Section 83(i) Election

For eligible option exercises, a timely election under Section 83(i) will defer income at exercise until the earlier of the (i) IPO; (ii) the first date the stock becomes transferable (including to the employer), (iii) five years from exercise, (iv) the first date the employee becomes an “excluded employee,” or (v) the date the election is revoked. The 83(i) Election must be made within a 30-day period after exercise.

These are some of the eligibility requirements:

1. The company must have offered stock options on terms that provide the same rights and privileges (other than the number of shares) in the calendar year of grant to at least 80% of its U.S. employees. Since most startups do not make annual grants of stock options, this would be unlikely to apply except in years of very high growth in staff size, or to the occasional startup that gives broad-based annual refresh grants.

2. The individual must not be a significant owner or executive of the company. The ownership test is met by 1% ownership. The executive test relates to role, such as CEO and CFO, as well as total compensation, as it applies to the four most highly compensated officers of the company. Both definitions have historical applicability, such as a 10-year look back, as well as future applicability, so that if one of the definitions is met after the Section 83(i) Election, the individual becomes an “excluded employee” and the tax deferral ends.

Section 83(i) Notice

Companies are required to provide a Section 83(i) Notice to eligible employees at the time (or a reasonable period before) they become eligible to make the Section 83(i) Election. However, not all eligible employees will be aware of their eligibility, as some companies may still be in the process of assessing eligibility. Therefore, those considering option exercises at private companies may want to inquire as follows:

I understand that the new tax bill created a Section 83(i) Election to allow deferral of taxation at option exercise until the earlier of 5 years from exercise or liquidity. But there are certain rules that have to be met for an option to be eligible, including related to the company’s option grant practices, my own ownership percentage and other requirements. Can you please confirm whether, if I exercise this option, I will be eligible to make a Section 83(i) Election on the stock I purchase?

Making the Section 83(i) Election Decision

Individuals who are eligible to make the Section 83(i) Election will want to consider the pros and cons based on the tax consequences and their investment plans. For example, exercising options and filing the Section 83(i) Election will not solve the pre-liquidity taxation problem if there is not a liquidity event before the five-year (or earlier) deadline. And the Section 83(i) Election converts ISOs into NQSO, so any favorable tax treatment associated with ISOs would be lost. Since the alternative minimum tax exemptions have increased so dramatically, ISOs are more likely to be AMT-free at exercise. Such an ISO exercise may ultimately result in more favorable tax treatment than the Section 83(i) Election, if the shares are held for the full ISO holding periods. And, as in any option exercise, paying the exercise price itself is an investment risk and having a tax-deferred exercise does not make the exercise risk-free.

The final Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will reduce Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT") bills for many who exercise Incentive Stock Options ("ISOs") in two ways - one direct and one indirect.

First, the bill increased exemption amounts and phase-out thresholds for the AMT as follows:

The increased AMT exemption decreases the likelihood of triggering AMT at exercise of ISOs. For those ISO exercises that do trigger AMT, the increased AMT phase-out threshold may reduce the amount of AMT due. The result of these changes is a maximum savings of $18,000 for an individual exercising ISOs.

Second, the bill reduced or repealed several triggers of the prior AMT, such as state and local tax deductions. This reduces the number of taxpayers who will need to use their AMT exemption amount for non-ISO AMT items. According to Joe Rosenberg of the Tax Policy Center, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal, only about 200,000 returns will be subject to AMT in 2018 down from approximately five million in 2017. So starting in 2018 most taxpayers will not have “used up” the AMT exemption amount on non-ISO related items and therefore will be able to use the entire AMT exemption amount to offset gains at exercise of options. In addition, these new thresholds may trigger the release of AMT credit carryovers.

These changes are somewhat anticlimactic after legislators almost repealed the entire Alternative Minimum Tax, which would have made all ISO exercises tax-free. But they may result in savings of up to approximately $18,000 in AMT for a ISO exercise.

What does this mean for existing ISO grants?

These changes are somewhat anticlimactic after legislators almost repealed the entire Alternative Minimum Tax, which would have made all ISO exercises tax-free. But they may result in savings of up to approximately $18,000 in AMT for a ISO exercise. So it makes sense to work with your tax advisor and/or financial planner to decide if/when to exercise to take advantage of the benefits of the new rules. Here are some choices on ISO exercise:

1. Early exercise some ISOs prior to vesting (if allowed under grant documents);

This is a tax planning maneuver to start your capital gains holding period and avoid paying taxes at exercise. (If you have ISOs you are considering for early exercise, you might prefer to have them converted into NSOs before early exercising. See more on this issue here.)

2. Exercise some ISOs after vesting and prior to liquidity; or

Precisely planning your ISO exercises can allow you to take advantage of the ISO benefits, which will be more favorable under the revised AMT limits. Work with your accountant or financial advisor to determine precisely how many ISOs can be exercised per year to fall within the AMT exemption amount for your phase-out threshold status.

3. Wait to exercise all ISOs until the shares will be sold to pay the taxes due at liquidity and the exercise price.

This is likely to have the highest tax rates but the lowest investment risk. However, if the ISOs expire early at employment termination, leaving your job may make this impossible. More on this issue here.

Please note: This is an update on the bill as it was in process. Please see our later posts for the final outcomes on these points!

Hello Startup Community!

The Senate and House have each passed tax reform bills that include provisions related to startup equity. When they pass a final bill, I will send an update on how it affects individuals in the startup community. As of today:

Final Deal Before Christmas? Congress is working to reconcile the Senate and House versions before Christmas. The Wall Street Journal reported today that House and Senate Republicans have agreed on the final version and expect to vote next week.

Tax-Deferral for Stock Option Exercise? Both the Senate and House versions include a tax-deferral opportunity for certain startup employees who exercise stock options or settle RSUs before they have liquidity for the shares. However, the rules are quite restrictive and not well-aligned with the current practices of most startups, so this is not likely to be a benefit for most startup employees who have outstanding stock options.

Eliminate AMT? The House bill would eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax for individuals. If this is part of the final bill, it would allow for tax-free exercise of Incentive Stock Options. The House bill also modifies the timing for use of existing AMT tax credits.

Restrictions on Sale of Stock? The Senate's bill also included a first-in, first-out rule for stock sales. This would affect startup stockholders who participate in secondary sales or tender offers and those who sell stock after an IPO. It could limit their planning opportunities for tax-deferral and Qualified Small Business Stock exclusions.

Thank you for your enthusiasm for my practice and the Stock Option Counsel Blog. I will continue to send quarterly updates on important topics in the market for startup equity for individual founders, executives and employees. Please keep in touch.

This is a "handout" for an event on October 12, 2017 for the East Bay BioNetwork.

I’m Mary Russell and the founder of Stock Option Counsel, P.C. – Legal Services for Individuals. I serve as attorney counsel to individuals on their personal interests in startup equity including job offers, equity grants and employment agreements, founder interests at incorporation, financings, and exits, and executive compensation design.

Evaluating Startup Equity Offers

I regularly counsel individuals who are evaluating equity offers from venture capital backed startups. In our conversation today, we will discuss key factors in these evaluations. You can use this blog post to follow along and use the links below for further information.

Market Research on Certification Program

We are developing a Stock Option Counsel – Approved – Startup Employee Equity certification program for companies to certify to their hires and employees that their equity terms meet our standards. We hope it will increase efficiency in the job search process and enthusiasm for startup equity. Let’s discuss!

Examples of Good Startup Equity Design by Company Stage

In advising on the right structure for clients of Stock Option Counsel - Legal Services for Individuals, I work with individuals to balance their priorities for investment timing, tax timing, tax rates and value structure. These are some examples of how the trade-offs are made at each stage.

1. Earliest Stage - Restricted Stock Purchase

While a startup is in its early stages and its Fair Market Value (FMV) is quite low, consider purchase of Restricted Stock for founders and early employees. This is the model used for Founders’ Stock at startups, and it is also ideal for executives and employees who are willing to pay the FMV of the common stock up-front for their shares. With the use of an 83(b) election with the IRS, Restricted Stock purchase provides for tax deferral until sale of stock, favorable capital gains tax rates at sale of stock, and fewer tax penalties than stock options in the event the IRS determines the FMV was underpriced for the shares.

2. Early to Mid-Stage - Early Exercise of Stock Options

For those who are willing to take early investment risks for tax deferral and lower tax rates, consider early exercise of stock options. This is an obvious choice for early-stage startup hires who can afford the stock purchase price at hire. For example, at a very early stage startup an employee’s total exercise price might be less than $1,000. Early exercise may also be a good choice for some individuals at mid-stage startups with somewhat higher exercise prices or even later stage startups with high growth potential, as an early investment may be worth it for future tax savings and/or tax deferral.

Early exercise stock options can be exercised before vesting. If they are exercised before the FMV rises above the exercise price, tax payments are deferred until sale of stock by use of a Section 83(b) election at the time of purchase.

However, the investment risk is real, as the purchase price is delivered up-front and shares are held as an investment. If the shares were to become worthless, the investment amount would be lost for both vested and unvested shares.

Early exercise stock options are preferable to restricted stock if the employee is not sure about making the investment up-front. Unlike the purchase of restricted stock, the choice to exercise stock options (even with early exercise rights) can be deferred for some time. However, if the exercise or early exercise is made after the FMV has gone up, the exercise will lead to taxable income.

The early exercise structure can be combined with an extended exercise period (see below under #3 or more here on the blog), so that the employee has the choice between early exercising to minimize tax rates or deferring exercise until any time within the full 10 year term.

Note that the right to early exercise can be a disadvantage for stock option grants with an exercise price greater than $100,000 if they are not early exercised. Any amounts over $100,000 would be ineligible for ISO status due to the ISO rules’ $100,000 limitation.

3. Early to Mid-Stage - Stock Options with Full 10-Year Exercise Period

Additional consideration: Optionees who take advantage of an extended exercise period (exercise their options after 90 days from last employment) lose their Incentive Stock Option (ISO) tax treatment. Shares exercised after 90 days from last employment will be treated as Non-Qualified Stock Options (NQSOs) and generally come with a higher tax rate. However, with this extended exercise design, optionees can choose to exercise within 90 days and keep their ISO classification, or wait to exercise and accept the NQSO classification. This flexibility is key in rewarding optionees of all types and financial circumstance.

4. Later Stage - Restricted Stock Units

Employees may prefer RSUs to stock options at later stage companies for both tax deferral and offer value purposes. Well-designed RSUs defer taxes until liquidity so long as it is within a certain time frame (such as 7 years from the date of grant). RSUs are less advantageous for tax rates, though, as the value of the shares is taxed as ordinary income at settlement. RSUs are advantageous from an investment perspective because there is no investment risk as there would be in a stock option exercise prior to liquidity. RSUs also give the employee the full value of the shares at liquidity as there is no purchase price to pay for the stock as there would be with a stock option exercise price. For this reason, a grant of RSUs generally consists of fewer shares than a grant of stock options at a company of the same stage.

The standard for startup stock plans has been that unvested employee equity must be continued or substituted in an acquisition rather than cancelled without payment. We'll call these Continuation Plans. This means they must be replaced with either cash or equity awards with the same value as the deal consideration for the shares being cancelled. If they are not replaced for the deal value, their vesting will be immediately accelerated at the acquisition and paid the entire deal price for the vested and unvested shares. The replacement still must be earned over the original vesting schedule, so there's no guarantee of earning the unvested shares without also having single or double acceleration upon change of control protections. However, this traditional requirement offered protection of value for employees. Those who stay at the acquiring company under a Continuation Plan will continue to earn the deal consideration for their shares in some other form.

The Cancellation Plans that allow cancellation of in-the-money unvested equity without payment are grabbing value from employee shares. Unvested equity - RSUs, options, etc. - can be cancelled and replaced with $0. For example, if an employee's total number of RSUs were worth $200,000 at the acquisition price, and only 50% had vested at the acquisition, the employee would be paid $100,000 and the remaining $100,000 in value of RSUs would be cancelled without payment, continuation or substitution even if the employee stays as an employee after the acquisition.

In a Continuation Plan, an employee would receive the $100,000 deal consideration for the vested shares and a substitution or continuation award in exchange for the $100,000 in unvested value. That might be in the form of cash to vest over time, continuing awards in the acquired company if it survives the merger, or substitute value of the acquiring company's equity, such as RSUs worth $100,000 in value of the acquiring company. Any such replacements would continue to vest over the original remaining vesting schedule.

The drivers instead received a one-time payment, which appears to be dramatically lower than the RSUs would have been valued in the acquisition. It was reported that the maximum portion of the acquisition price they could have received was 1.5%. It's not entirely clear that this is the case, as drivers report that they were never notified of their percentage ownership in the company at the time of the acquisition. But if the paltry payouts - one example was $250 to a driver - were actually at the deal consideration for the deal, it would mean that the original awards were such a low percentage of the company that they would have crossed into absurdity. Therefore, it safe to assume that Juno had a Cancellation Plan and it used it to cut its drivers out of a $200 million acquisition, less than a year after promising its drivers 50% of the company's equity. Ouch.

So if you're negotiating a startup equity offer, ask for the good stuff - a Continuation Plan.

"Hey baby, what's your employee number?" A low employee number at a famous startup is a sign of great riches. But you can't start today and be Employee #1 at Square, Pinterest, or one of the other most valuable startups on Earth. Instead you'll have to join an early-stage startup and negotiate a great equity package. This post walks through the negotiation issues in joining a pre-Series A / seed-funded / very-early-stage startup.

What are the chances of a seed-funded startup becoming a "unicorn" (here, defined as having 6 rounds of funding rather than the traditional definition of a $1 billion valuation).

Q: How many shares should I get?

Don't think in terms of number of shares or the valuation of shares when you join an early-stage startup. Think of yourself as a late-stage founder and negotiate for a specific percentage ownership in the company. You should base this percentage on your anticipated contribution to the company's growth in value.

Early-stage companies expect to dramatically increase in value between founding and Series A. For example, a common pre-money valuation at a VC financing is $8 million. And no company can become an $8 million company without a great team. So think about your contribution in this way:

Q: How should early-stage startups calculate my percentage ownership?

You'll be negotiating your equity as a percentage of the company's "Fully Diluted Capital." Fully Diluted Capital = the number of shares issued to founders ("Founder Stock") + the number of shares reserved for employees ("Employee Pool") + the number of shares issued or promised to other investors ("Convertible Notes"). There may also be warrants outstanding, which should also be included. Your Number of Shares / Fully Diluted Capital = Your Percentage Ownership.

Be aware that many early-stage startups will likely ignore Convertible Notes when they give you the Fully Diluted Capital number to calculate your ownership percentage. Convertible Notes are issued to angel or seed investors before a full VC financing. The seed stage investors give the company money a year or so before the VC financing is expected, and the company "converts" the Convertible Notes into preferred stock during the VC financing at a discount from the price per share paid by VCs.

Since the Convertible Notes are a promise to issue stock, you'll want to ask the company to include some estimate for conversion of Convertible Notes in the Fully Diluted Capital to help you more accurately estimate your Percentage Ownership.

First, your ownership percentage will be significantly diluted at the Series A financing. When the Series A VC buys approximately 20% of the company, you will own approximately 20% less of the company.

Second, there is a huge risk that the company will never raise a VC financing. According to CB Insights, about 39.4% of companies with legitimate seed funding go on to raise follow-on financing. And the number is far lower for seed deals in which legitimate VCs are not participating.

Don't be fooled by promises that the company is "raising money" or "about to close a financing." Founders are notoriously delusional about these matters. If they haven't closed the deal and put millions of dollars in the bank, the risk is high that the company will run out of money and no longer be able to pay you a salary. Since your risk is higher than a post-Series A employee, your equity percentage should be higher as well.

Q: Is there anything tricky I should look out for in my stock documents?

Most employees who will be subject to this don't know about it until they are leaving the company (either willingly or after being fired) or waiting to get paid out in a merger that is never going to pay them out. That means they have been working to earn equity that does not have the value they think it does while they could have been working somewhere else for real equity.

The standard vesting is monthly vesting over four years with a one year cliff. This means that you earn 1/4 of the shares after one year and 1/48 of the shares every month thereafter. But vesting should make sense. If your role at the company is not expected to extend for four years, negotiate for an vesting schedule that matches that expectation.

When you negotiate for an equity package in anticipation of a valuable exit, you would hope that you would have the opportunity to earn the full value of the package. However, if you are terminated before the end of your vesting schedule, even after a valuable acquisition, you may not earn the full value of your shares. For example, if your entire grant is worth $1 million dollars at the time of an acquisition, and you have only vested half of your shares, you would only be entitled to half of that value. The remainder would be treated however the company agrees it will be treated in the acquisition negotiation. You may continue to earn that value over the next half of your vesting schedule, but not if you are terminated after the acquisition.

Some employees negotiate for “double trigger acceleration upon change of control.” This protects the right to earn the full block of shares, as the shares would immediately become vested if both of the following are met: (1st trigger) after an acquisition which occurs before the award is fully vested (2nd trigger) the employee is terminated (as defined in the stock option agreement).

Q: The company says they will decide the exercise price of my stock options. Can I negotiate that?

The company will set the exercise price at the fair market value ("FMV") on the date the board grants the options to you. This price is not negotiable, but to protect your interests you want to be sure that they grant you the options ASAP.

Let the company know that this is important to you and follow up on it after you start. If they delay granting you the options until after a financing or other important event, the FMV and the exercise price will go up. This would reduce the value of your stock options by the increase in value of the company.

Early-stage startups very commonly delay making grants. They shrug this off as due to "bandwidth" or other nonsense. But it is really just carelessness about giving their employees what they have been promised.

The timing and, therefore, price of grants does not matter much if the company is a failure. But if the company has great success within its first years, it is a huge problem for individual employees. I have seen individuals stuck with exercise prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars when they were promised exercise prices in the hundreds of dollars.

Q: What salary can I negotiate as an early-stage employee?

When you join an early-stage startup, you may have to accept a below market salary. But a startup is not a non-profit. You should be up to market salary as soon as the company raises real money. And you should be rewarded for any loss of salary (and the risk that you will be earning $0 salary in a few months if the company does not raise money) in a significant equity award when you join the company.

When you join the company, you may want to come to agreement on your market rate and agree that you will receive a raise to that amount at the time of the financing. You can also ask when you join for the company to grant you a bonus at the time of the financing to make up for your work at below-market rates in the early stages. This is a gamble, of course, because only a small percent of seed-stage startups would ever make it to Series A and be able to pay that bonus.

Q: What form of equity should I receive? What are the tax consequences of the form?

[Please do not rely on these as tax advice to your particular situation, as they are based on many, many assumptions about an individual's tax situation and the company's compliance with the law. For example, if the company incorrectly designs the structure or the details of your grants, you can be faced with penalty taxes of up to 70%. Or if there are price fluctuations in the year of sale, your tax treatment may be different. Or if the company makes certain choices at acquisition, your tax treatment may be different. Or ... you get the idea that this is complicated.]

These are the most tax advantaged forms of equity compensation for an early-stage employee in order of best to worst.:

1. [Tie] Restricted Stock. You buy the shares for their fair market value at the date of grant and file an 83(b) election with the IRS within 30 days. Since you own the shares, your capital gains holding period begins immediately. You avoid being taxed when you receive the stock and avoid ordinary income tax rates at sale of stock. But you take the risk that the stock will become worthless or will be worth less than the price you paid to buy it.

1. [Tie] Non-Qualified Stock Options (Immediately Early Exercised). You early exercise the stock options immediately and file an 83(b) election with the IRS within 30 days. There is no spread between the fair market value of the stock and the exercise price of the options, so you avoid any taxes (even AMT) at exercise. You immediately own the shares (subject to vesting), so you avoid ordinary income tax rates at sale of stock and your capital gains holding period begins immediately. But you take the investment risk that the stock will become worthless or will be worth less than the price you paid to exercise it.

3. Incentive Stock Options ("ISOs"): You will not be taxed when the options are granted, and you will not have ordinary income when you exercise your options. However, you may have to pay Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT") when you exercise your options on the spread between the fair market value ("FMV") on the date of exercise and the exercise price. You will also get capital gains treatment when you sell the stock so long as you sell your stock at least (1) one year after exercise AND (2) two years after the ISOs are granted.

4. Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs"). You are not taxed at grant. You do not have to pay an exercise price. But you pay ordinary income tax and FICA taxes on the value of the shares on the vesting date or at a later date (depending on the company's plan and when the RSUs are "settled"). You probably will not have a choice between RSUs and stock options (ISOs or NQSO) unless you are a very early employee or serious executive and you have the power to drive the company's capital structure. So if you are joining at an early stage and are willing to lay out some cash to buy common stock, ask for Restricted Stock instead.

5. Non-Qualified Stock Option (Not Early Exercised): You owe ordinary income tax and FICA taxes on the date of exercise on the spread between the exercise price and the FMV on the date of exercise. When you sell the stock, you have capital gain or loss on the spread between the FMV on the date of exercise and the sale price.

The startup scene is debating this question: Should employees have a full 10 years from the date of grant to exercise vested options or should their rights to exercise expire early if they leave the company before an IPO or acquisition?

FULL 10-YEAR TERM SOLUTION

Some companies are saving their optionees from the $1 million problem of early expiration stock options by granting stock options that have a full 10 year term and do not expire early at termination. The law does not require an early expiration period for stock options. Ten years from date of grant is usually the maximum exercise period, as the legal landscape for stock options makes anything beyond a 10 year exercise period impractical in most cases. The 10 year exercise window (without an early exercise period) enables employees to wait for a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition) to pay their exercise price and the associated taxes. This extended structure is designed to compensate employees in a way that makes sense for them.

An exercise more than 90 days after the last date of employment changes tax treatment for options originally granted as Incentive Stock Options (ISOs). Such an exercise will be treated as the exercise of a Non-Qualified Stock Option (NQSO) instead. Most employees would prefer to have the choice that an extended exercise period allows, the choice between exercising within 90 days of termination of employment for ISO treatment or waiting to exercise and being subject to NQSO treatment.

CREATIVE MODIFICATIONS TO THE FULL 10-YEAR TERM SOLUTION

Companies may prefer early expiration of stock options because terminated stock options reduce dilution for other stockholders. Or they may prefer that their employees are bound to the company by the “golden handcuffs” of early expiration stock options as a retention tool.

For companies that are concerned about excessive dilution, it might make sense to eliminate early expiration only if the company’s value has increased since grant. In other words, employees have a full 10-year term only if the FMV of the common stock on the date of their departure is greater than the exercise price of the stock option. This targets the solution (tax deferral) to the problem (owing tax at exercise before liquidity). If the FMV at exercise is equal to the exercise price, then there is no taxable income to report at exercise. Therefore, an extended exercise period is not necessary to defer taxes until liquidity. This solution does not address the problem of high exercise prices; companies with high exercise prices due to high valuations may want to use RSUs instead of stock options to solve the exercise price problem.

Attorney Augie Rakow, a partner at Orrick who advises startups and investors, has another creative modification to the full 10-year term solution. He has advised clients to find a middle ground by extending exercise periods only for longer-term contributors. This addresses the company concern about retention while solving the early expiration problem for longer-term employees. For example, option agreements might allow three years to exercise after departure only if an employee has been with the company for three years. He notes that "it's a good solution for companies that want to let long-term contributors participate in the value they help create, without incentivizing employees to leave prematurely."

CAN I REALISTICALLY EXERCISE THE STOCK OPTIONS IF THE COMPANY IS A SUCCESS?

Due to the prevalence of early expiration stock options at startups, this becomes an essential question in evaluating an equity offer: “Can I realistically earn the value of vested equity if the company is a success?” If the option grant has a very high exercise price or could potentially lead to a huge tax bill at exercise, it may not be feasible to exercise during an early expiration period at the end of employment, making the value of vested equity impossible to capture. Clients have negotiated the removal of early expiration or other creative structures to solve this problem if it arises in the employment offer.

The startup scene is debating this question: Should employees have a full 10 years from the date of grant to exercise vested options or should their rights to exercise expire early if they leave the company before an IPO or acquisition?

EARLY EXPIRATION PERIOD

The standard in the past has been that startup stock options are designed with this early expiration period. They must be exercised by whichever comes first:

1. 10 years after the date of grant or

2. 3 months after the last date of employment. (We’ll call this an “early expiration period.")

If a stock option is not exercised by this deadline, it expires and the individual forfeits all rights to the equity they earned. In some cases, this period is shorter, such as expiration 1 month after or even the day of last employment.

If an employee leaves a startup - by choice or involuntary termination of employment - and has to exercise stock options within an early expiration period, he or she has the following choice:

1. Pay the exercise price and tax bill with savings or a loan;

2. Find liquidity for some of the shares on the secondary market (which is complicated, not widely accessible, and sometimes prohibited by company or law) to pay for the cost of the exercise price and tax bill; or

3. Walk away and lose the vested value.

A $1 MILLION PROBLEM

This can be a $1 million problem for employees at successful companies because the tax bill due at exercise is based on the value of the shares at exercise. Either ordinary income or alternative minimum taxable (AMT) income may be recognized at exercise. This income will equal the difference between the option exercise price and the value of the shares at the time of exercise. The value of the shares is usually called fair market value (FMV) or 409A valuation. These values are generally set by an outside firm hired by the company. The company may try to set these valuations as low as possible to minimize this problem for employees, but IRS rules generally require that the FMV increases with investor valuations and business successes.

The more successful the company has been between option grant and option exercise, the higher the tax bill will be. For a wildly successful company, the calculation might look like this:

REMEMBER: FMV at exercise is not cash in hand without a liquidity event. Therefore, if the option holder in this example makes the investment of $50,000 plus the tax payment of $1,027,000, they might never realize the $4 million in stock option value they earned, or even reclaim the $1,077,000 exercise price + tax. The shares may never become liquid and could be a total loss. For someone who goes into debt to exercise and pay taxes, that might mean bankruptcy. So, even if they can come up with $1 million to solve the early expiration problem at exercise, they may have wished they had not if the company value later declines.

Investor-types frame this as a simple investment choice - the option holder needs to decide whether or not to bet on the company by the deadline. But many people simply do not have access to funds to cover these amounts. It’s not a realistic choice. The very success of the company they helped create makes it impossible to exercise the stock options they earned.

Although these numbers may seem impossibly large, I regularly see this problem at the $1 million + magnitude for individual option holders. The common demographic for the problem is very early hires of startups that grew to billion-dollar valuations.

1. Later IPOs = more likely early expiration applies before liquidity. The typical tenure of a startup employee is 3-4 years. As companies stay private longer, employees are more likely to leave a company after their shares have vested but before an IPO. If they have to exercise within the early expiration period but before an IPO, they must pay taxes before they have liquidity to pay the taxes.

2. Higher valuations = higher grant prices. Exercise prices for stock option grants must be set at the fair market value (“FMV” or “409A Value”) of common stock on the date of grant. If an individual joins a company that has had some success in raising funds and in business, the FMV at grant will be higher. Therefore, departing employees are more likely to have hefty exercise prices to pay within an early expiration period. With delayed IPOs they are unlikely to have access to liquidity opportunities to cover exercise prices.

3. Higher valuations = higher tax due at exercise. Total tax bills at exercise are more likely to be high as the company valuations are high because taxable income (either ordinary income or alternative minimum taxable income) is generally equal to FMV at Exercise - Exercise Price. With delayed IPOs, employees are unlikely to have access to liquidity opportunities to cover tax bills.